The 40-year-old Swede signed a professional try-out agreement with the AHL Albany Devils. Before you let your imagination get away with you, according to Tom Gulitti of Fire & Ice, Hedberg is in Albany to help with their goaltending depth problems.

“[Keith] Kinkaid is hurt and they needed another goalie and I was around and available, so here I am,” Hedberg said.

If you’re thinking Hedberg is being warmed up to potentially take Martin Brodeur’s spot in New Jersey should they trade him, that can’t happen since Hedberg was bought out by the Devils.

Any player bought out by a team cannot play for that team during the season following the buyout. Hedberg can play for any of the other 29 teams this season, but can’t even be traded back to New Jersey.

New Jersey coach Pete DeBoer wasn’t trying to fool anyone today when asked about the departure of Ilya Kovalchuk for the KHL.

According to DeBoer, next season’s Devils team will be a far different version than the one that made it to the 2012 Stanley Cup Final.

“Sure it’s different,” DeBoer said, per the Star-Ledger. “You take out a (Zach) Parise and you take out a Kovalchuk. Those are players who single-handedly can do some things that only a handful of players in the world can do. We’re going to have to be a different team.

“We’re going to have to play more of a team game. Our five-man units and our systems are going to have to be air tight. Our special teams are going to have to be better. Goaltending is going to have to be top notch like it has been. There is going to be an emphasis on all those areas because you’re taking out a couple game-breaking players.”

The Devils missed the playoffs in 2013 (though they were perhaps a bit unlucky in that regard), so clearly they have a pretty big challenge facing them next season.

They should, however, be better in one area, and that’s goaltending. You’ll recall that Martin Brodeur was hurt for a lengthy stretch of this past season, during which Johan Hedberg really struggled to fill in. And let’s be honest, Brodeur wasn’t exactly unbeatable when he was healthy, finishing with a save percentage of just .901.

Now, after Cory Schneider came over from Vancouver, the Devils have a legitimate competition for the starting job.

The Cory Schneider-to-New Jersey trade caught a lot of people off guard.

Including some within the Devils organization.

Like head coach Peter DeBoer, for example. On Monday, DeBoer said he had no idea his team was going to acquire the Vancouver netminder — even though he was at the draft.

“No I didn’t know. It was a surprise to me until Lou [Lamoriello, Devils GM] came down to our end of the table and told me,” DeBoer told the New Jersey Star-Ledger. “It was a real pleasant surprise, obviously. I don’t think it’s any secret that everybody has been wondering what is going to happen next at such a key position.”

While an amusing anecdote, it’s not too surprising.

Lamoriello is notoriously secretive and, at times, basically non-communicative when it comes to discussing player transactions, negotiations and contracts.

Poulin, 23, has appeared in 21 games with the Isles since being selected in the fifth round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

His career on Long Island started well — he went 4-2-1 with a 2.44 GAA and .924 save percentage in his rookie year — but has flatlined lately. He had an average 2011-12 (2-4-0, 3.04 GAA, .907 save percentage) and an equally mediocre 2013 (1-3, 3.02 GAA, .893 save percentage).

That said, the former QMJHL Victoriaville standout will have a shot to be Evgeni Nabokov’s full-time backup in 2013-14.

With Rick DiPietro gone and Anders Nilsson coming off a so-so year with AHL Bridgeport, the door is open for Poulin to be the full-time No. 2.

That said, GM Garth Snow could opt for a more experienced presence behind Nabokov.

The Islanders aren’t exactly pressed for cap space (approximately $22 million away from the ceiling) and there are a number of veteran goalies still available: Jose Theodore, Chris Mason and Johan Hedberg, to name a few.

If you’re itching for a defenseman or goalie, things get a bit riskier there.

Amongst the blue liners, there’s Marek Zidlicky, Douglas Murray, Ryan Whitney, Joe Corvo, Wade Redden, and Ian White. Each player has a role they fill, but you’re not changing the outlook of your team with them.

The same could be said of the goalies left to pick from: Ilya Bryzgalov, Tim Thomas, Jose Theodore, and Johan Hedberg are still out there.

If a solid backup is what you need, Hedberg or Theodore is your man. If you want to shake up the ranks, however, Bryz and Thomas are as good as it gets.